Innocence Flies Away
by Anily AKW-DPP
Summary: Full sum inside Tiedoll & Marie find a teenager in the midst of an Akuma attack. Now, four years later, Kanda & Allen are sent to retrieve five possible exorcists. Questions soon arise such as this- is Kanda who he says he is and what happened with Fang?
1. Prologue

Summ: Four years ago, Tiedoll and Marie find a certain teenager asleep and unaffected by the poisonous gas from Akumas around. Now, in the present, Exorcists Allen Walker and Yuu Kanda head over to New York City to recruit a certain group of Avian-Americans. The question soon arises after running into Max- is Kanda who he says he is?

"text" in English

"-text-" in Japanese

"_text_" Angel talking/putting thoughts in someone's head

A/N: I don't own any of the characters mentioned here at all- well, if you've seen their name in MR or DGM, anyway. They belong to Patterson/Hoshino, in that case.

Also. Set after the part of The Angel Experiment/first manga [at least I think...] in MR, or whatever book where Max had said that family isn't just a couple of the Flock, but all of them. They were sleeping in that cave, right after rescuing Angel I believe. So it's right after that part.

In DGM, this is set before the whole Alma Karma thing... but after Allen got control of the Gate, which means after the Edo Arc, I believe.

Set in both verses- aka, merged the two together. My explanation is that, for at least the area the Black Order is in, it's like those Renaissance places where everyone dresses like the past. But for the most part, the world is modern- the Black Order has been running the way it has been for ages and have decided not to change how they do so. Or something like that.

PS: note that I've only read up to... book 3? in the MR verse... ^^; and the characters might not be in character...

* * *

PROLOGUE

"Ugh!" I groaned as I sat up. My back ached and my vision was blurred.

"Max?" I called out. No answer- maybe she's asleep?

I blinked a few times as I tried to remember where I was and what had happened yesterday. "Iggy? Gasman, Nudge, Angel? Where...?" I realized that no one was going to answer me.

Why?

Because I was all alone.

I stood up suddenly, ready to U&A. Something had to be wrong. Why would they leave me, after Max had just said family wasn't just five or less of us, but all six?

My mouth opened slightly. There was blood everywhere- all around except just inches around where I was lying down. The trees and other plants had black star markings on them as well.

"What the f...?" I began. This wasn't where I was last night with the Flock... It wasn't even close.

I flinched when a hand was placed on my shoulder. I turned around sharply and saw an old man there- he certainly wasn't an Eraser so I relaxed a bit. Not much, but I still relaxed a little.

"Who are you?" I said bitterly. Was he the reason I was alone?

"I am General Tiedoll. I'd like you to come with me Fang," He answered. Another man walks up from behind Tiedoll- his eyes have the same distant look as Iggy's, suggesting that he too is blind.

"General Tiedoll, why is he still alive?" The man asked. "I thought this area was over taken by Akuma."

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Akuma?" I repeated. "W-"

The man suddenly lashed out and thin strings appeared to have just come out of somewhere, barely missing my shoulder.

I opened my mouth to yell out certain curses but the General and the man covered my mouth as well as their own.

A thick black gas started forming around us and I immediately held my breath. I slowly turned around and my eyes opened wide as I saw what the man had hit- a large looming creature with guns sticking out of its form and sad markings on its face. The strings were still attached to its heart as it turned into dust and gas.

The gas finally disappeared and Tiedoll removed his hand from my face. I spat and coughed after having held in my breath for so long.

"What the f was that?" I exclaimed.

"It was an Akuma." The blind man said simply.

"Marie, I think we should take the young man back to the Head Quarters," Tiedoll said.

Marie nodded. "Yes General. Fang, is it?"

I was about to nod before I remembered that Marie was blind- what is it with blind guys being able to act so normal, as if they could see? "Yeah," I replied. "But where is this HQ you're talking about?"

"Europe."

I groaned. If only I was alone and flying…


	2. Chapter 1

Summ: Four years ago, Tiedoll and Marie find a certain teenager asleep and unaffected by the poisonous gas from Akumas around. Now, in the present, Exorcists Allen Walker and Yuu Kanda head over to New York City to recruit a certain group of Avian-Americans. The question soon arises after running into Max- is Kanda who he says he is?

"text" in English

"-text-" in Japanese

"_text_" Angel talking/putting thoughts in someone's head

I don't own any characters from the series. This following chapter is now the present, POV Kanda. Kanda will seem OOC, but that's because... well, I need him like that. For now, at least... and the further chapters he's OOC as well ^^;

Note: All my chapters were written so that they'd work in deviantART which uses different formatting than FF. So if you see any "i" or "/i" that's the part of the formatting that was left behind from dA. I'm not sure exactly which parts are supposed to be italicized now... ^^;

* * *

FIRST ACT- FOUR YEARS LATER

"Yuu, Allen!" The red head called. "Komui has a mission for you two!"

I groaned. Another mission? It felt like I had just came back from my last one. And why did it have to be with Moyashi?

I glanced over at the white haired teen. After seeing his expression, I was certain he was feeling the same way.

Standing up, I sighed. Oh well, might as well find out what Komui wanted...

-.-

I got there before Allen- when I left he was just starting breakfast. I figured I would have a while before he came.

I sat down on the couch in the cluttered office.

"Kanda! Allen is still eating I presume?" Komui asked from behind the stacks of paper on his desk. I heard a muffled "Aha!" just before I got some papers thrown at me- five different files.

"He only started when I left," I said. "Where are we going this time, and why did you choose Moyashi and me?"

Komui's head popped up from behind the papers, causing some to fall to the ground. "You two are going to America and you're the only Exorcists available."

I raised an eye in confusion. "What about the usagi? He's here, and so is Lenalee and Krory."

"Lavi and Krory are going to another mission, and-"

"I can't send my Lenalee out now!" I finished in unison. Komui glared at me. I placed my hands up in defense and he sighed.

The door opened and Moyashi walked in.

"Sorry I'm late Komui. Did you already start debriefing Kanda?" He asked. He sat down next to me on the couch.

"Che." I rolled my eyes.

"We haven't said much. I only told him that it's located in America." Komui answered.

I took the five files into my hands and opened one. Allen took another and did the same.

A familiar looking African American teen was shown on my file. I raised my eyebrow in confusion- where had I seen her before?

Allen's revealed a young blond girl with bright blue eyes. I opened two more- a blond boy that looked like the girl from the file Allen opened and a teen with red brown hair and the distant look in his eyes. Allen opened the last file and a teen female with long wavy blond brunette hair was staring at us.

My heart skipped a beat- I remembered where I saw these people before... It couldn't really be them, could it?

"Who are these people and why are we going to find them?" Allen asked. Both he and Komui seemed oblivious to my shock.

"They are Maximum Ride, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel. We think that they might be Innocence compatible." Komui replied.

Innocence?

"What makes you think that?" I wondered.

"There has been reports of strange things happening wherever they're sighted. This has been going on for possibly the past four years." Komui stated as Allen looked through the papers- they said almost everything from their birthdays to their shoe size. "Earlier reports state that there was another with them, a male of the same age as Maximum and Iggy, but he hasn't been sighted for years."

I glanced at the ground. They were still alive...

"When are we leaving?" I interrupted.

"At noon. It should be seven AM when you get there." Komui responded. "You will be using the Ark."

I nodded as I stood. I left without another word.

-.-

Allen and I were walking through the Ark, both of us silent. He was looking for the door that would lead us to New York- he had gone there before on another mission and had forgotten where the door way was. I didn't exactly blame him, there was a new door added every time he traveled back from a mission.

"Hurry up Moyashi. They could be long gone by the time we find the door." I muttered. I received a glare from the teen.

Okay, maybe I blamed him a little. It wouldn't hurt for him to remember this stuff.

"Here it is." He said after a few more minutes of walking.

"Che." I replied. "Took you long enough." I opened the door and walked through into the city that never sleeps.

-.-

Some Finders greeted us holding a different change of clothes so that we wouldn't draw attention. We were only allowed to wear our uniforms in the alley that we were to report to every night so we could inform the HQ of how the mission was going along. Even the Finders were restricted to this rule.

We were told we would stay in a two bedroom hotel room for when we needed sleep or took breaks from finding the five teens. We may had been stuck in the same hotel room, but I was glad that there was at least two different bedrooms.

"What do you know so far?" I asked the Finder as I walked back out in a black t-shirt with a white long sleeved shirt underneath and jeans. Allen was already outside with the Finders in a light blue jacket and jeans.

"They stay in the same hotel as yours, but they don't seem to stay in it for the most part. There seems to be an unlimited amount of money being given to them. There isn't much else known," The Finder stated.

"How old are they?" Allen wondered. My eye twitched. Didn't he read the files?

"Maximum and Iggy are about nineteen, the same age as Kanda-San. Nudge is about seventeen like Walker-San. Gazzy is almost thirteen and the youngest Angel is about eleven." The Finder answered.

It's been that long?

"They usually take a walk in the park at this time." The Finder said.

Allen and I nodded. "Thanks," he added as we left.

"...Do you know where the park is?" Allen asked me about five minutes later.

I sighed. "Che. Follow me, Moyashi."

"For the thousandth time my name is Allen..." He muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "And what makes you think I'm listening?"

-.-

I inhaled sharply as we arrived at the park. It looked exactly the same.

"Have you been here before, Kanda?" Allen asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Maybe I have and maybe I haven't." Was my reply. I glanced around. "You see the kids?"

Allen looked around too. "No, too many people." He said after a while.

"Your eye going off? Any Akuma?" I wondered, my hand ready to take out Mugen from its hidden place under my shirt. I wasn't sure how it was possible for it to fit and not hurt me, but it did.

Allen shook his head. "Not yet, anyway."

I glanced back towards a group of people after over looking them. A tall man or two in a suit with sunglasses. I glanced around and noted at least three more.

"How long have they been living in New York?" I asked Allen after seeing another.

"About a month."

"S***." Shouldn't they have moved already? Don't they remember that they could get them if they stayed too long in one place? Or maybe they forgot because they managed to stay free for four years?

The Men-in-Black suddenly sprinted towards a group of trees. Did they find them?

"What's going on there?" Allen wondered. "Where are all those men going to?"

I glanced at my comrade. "We won't find out by standing here." I replied and we dashed forward after the men.

When we reached the clearing the men had run off too, all that was left was blood stains, fur and lots of feathers.

"S***." If only Allen wasn't with me- I'd be able to go after them...

"Where could they have gone?" Allen asked me, crouching down to study the blood. "This isn't Akuma blood, so those men couldn't have been defeated Akumas."

I sighed as I picked up five different types of feathers- one for each if the five teens we were looking for. "Maybe the kids' Innocence helped them." I answered, trying not to act like I knew otherwise.

"Must have been a lot of birds here before they left," Allen muttered as he stood. "Guess we should go back to the hotel. Maybe they're there."

I nodded slightly. All the way back, I looked up in the sky for five flying figures.


	3. Chapter 2

Summ: Four years ago, Tiedoll and Marie find a certain teenager asleep and unaffected by the poisonous gas from Akumas around. Now, in the present, Exorcists Allen Walker and Yuu Kanda head over to New York City to recruit a certain group of Avian-Americans. The question soon arises after running into Max- is Kanda who he says he is?

"text" in English

"-text-" in Japanese

"_text_" Angel talking/putting thoughts in someone's head

Note: Don't own DGM or MR.

Once again, if there's any "i" or "/i" left there, it's remnants of the coding I used to make the words italic in deviantART, but apparently that coding doesn't work here... probably 'cause the Greater/Less Than signs don't work here on FF...

* * *

SECOND ACT

"Yes, we're Allen Walker and Yuu Kanda," Allen said to the woman at the front desk.

"Ah yes, here you are Mr. Walker. Room 136 on the second floor,"

Allen nodded as he took the keys. "Thank you Miss," He headed back to me.

"No sign of them yet," I told him. "Or any more Men-in-Black,"

Allen nodded as we began our way to the room. "The lady said they couldn't give out information about other guests."

"Well that's just comforting," I muttered.

"There hasn't been any Akuma yet- don't they usually pop out as soon as there's a new Exorcist?" Allen asked as we started looking for the room.

"Sometimes, but not always Moyashi. I don't think the Noah know that we are here, unless the men from earlier were humans serving the Earl." I replied. "Here it is."

"You don't think humans are actually siding with the Earl, do you?" Allen asked as he opened the door, not even bothering to say his name wasn't Moyashi.

I shrugged. "I don't know, Moyashi..."

-.-

I left to report to the HQ alone, leaving Allen to keep a look out for the teens.

I pulled up my hood over my face as I turned into the alley from this morning.

"Kanda-San," The Finder nodded at me and let me pass to use the communication Golem.

I connected it to Komui's desk phone.

"Ah, Kanda! How is the mission going?" Komui answered cheerfully. Probably glad I interrupted him from working.

"Not well. We haven't seen the kids anywhere. Was there anything in the reports about men in black suits? There was a lot of them this morning when we were looking in the park." I answered.

"Men in suits? Well, ah, no, the reports don't say anything about men in suits. They could just be filming a movie." Komui reassured me.

"I didn't see any cameras." I said plainly.

"It's fine Kanda. Just concentrate on getting those kids back here to HQ before the Noah find them."

"Che. All right." I hung up, nodded my thanks to the Finder, and walked out of the alley.

I brushed against a teenage blond-brunette girl on my way out.

"Watch where you're going." I muttered, still walking away.

The girl spun around and looked at me as I was leaving. "F- Nick? Is that you?"

I hesitated. I turned slightly, so that she could see a bit of my face under my hood. I studied her for a moment and waited for her to say something else.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone I knew." She offered her hand for me to shake. "I'm Max."

I hesitated again before deciding to shake her hand. "Yuu Kanda, but I'd prefer it if you called me by my last name Kanda."

"So you're from Japan?" She asked. I nodded slightly. "That's cool." Her cell phone rang in her pocket. "Er... Excuse me," She answered it, not saying anything except the occasional "mhm". "All right, I'm coming." She hung up and gave me an apologizing look. "Sorry Kanda, that was one of my sisters. She said one of my brothers set off a stink bomb in her room, so I have to go settle things back home. Where are you staying? Maybe we can go out sometime."

Stink bomb? I thought as I told her the name of the hotel Allen and I were staying in.

"Really? Room 136? My siblings and I are in the rooms on either side of yours. Heh, sorry in advance about the smell." Max said.

"Moyashi must be suffocating right now if you say I should be able to smell it when I get back." I gave a faint smile.

"Moyashi?" Max repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"You'll meet him when we get there."

-.-

It wasn't long after that when I realized that Max was Maximum Ride. She had a different haircut than when the picture was taken- a lot shorter and it made her look older.

Allen was at the desk talking with the lady when we arrived.

"... It reeks in there! I don't know where it came from, but it smells like a bunch of skunks all sprayed at the same time." he was saying.

"Hey Moyashi." I greeted.

Allen stopped talking and glared at me. "My name is Allen, retard. I thought you were only going to inform Komui about our status, not going out on a date."

I glared back. "I was not on a date, Moyashi. This is Max- and she is not my girlfriend before you say anything else."

Max seemed nervous. "Uh-huh..." She turned to the woman. "I'm so sorry about what happened- Taylor called me and said Terror and Matt set off a stink bomb in our rooms."

The woman gave a sweet smile. "I understand, Ms. Ride. I suppose it was the stink bomb that Mr. Walker smelled."

Allen seemed to finally catch on. He gave me a glance that asked me, "This is really Maximum Ride?" I gave a slight nod.

"Fortunately, it seems like your brothers' bomb has only effected you and your sisters' rooms, along with Mr. Walker and Mr. Kanda's. I can move you all to another room on the top floor,"

Max nodded. "Yes, please. I don't think we can sleep in ours for the night."

"I thought the top floors were usually for the upper class men," Allen whispered to me. I just shrugged.

The woman nodded and handed us ONE key.

"Uh, excuse me Miss, but I think you're mistaken. I don't mean to offend you, Max, but Moyashi and I would prefer not being roommates with complete strangers." I stated.

"None taken- plus, how can one room be enough for the five of us in my family, and the two of them?" Max wondered.

"I am terribly sorry, Ms. Ride, Mr. Walker and Mr. Kanda, but I'm afraid that's the only room we have left. However, it is a suite, one of our only three. It should be plenty enough room for the seven of you," The woman told us.

Max sighed. "All right, we'll take it. Thank you," She took the key as Allen and I said our thanks as well.

Allen and I let Max lead, slacking behind her so we could talk.

"We found Maximum and the others- but how are we going to get them to come with us back to the HQ?" Allen asked me.

"I guess we'll have to get used to living in New York, Moyashi."

-.-

I eventually had to take off my hood. I had taken it off as soon was we walked into the suite, and instantly, there was a chorus of gasps from the others besides Allen.

"What?" I asked coldly. "You people act like you've never seen a Japanese guy in your life."

"Actually, I haven't." The guy they called Matt stated as the younger boy Terror told him where all the furniture was.

"Well then besides you." I plopped down on the couch and Allen sat on the other side of it.

"Sorry, it's just that you look so much like F-Nick..." The Taylor girl stated as she and the youngest girl Angellica sat on the ground across from us.

"Who's Fnick?" I asked.

"Sounds American, but it doesn't seem like it's a real name." Allen added.

"If the Usagi were here, he would be able to tell us almost everything about the name Fnick- if it's real." I continued.

Max sat down next to Taylor and Angellica. "His name is Nick, but he usually went by Fang. Our brother went missing a few years ago, and Kanda looks a lot like him."

"The missing member?" Allen's eyes asked. I gave a quick nod.

A split second later, someone's stomach growled. I immediately turned to glare at Allen.

"Er... I am hungry but that wasn't me." Allen stated.

The other teens gave nervous laughs.

"Room service!" Terror shouted out in joy.

Max smiled and grabbed a pad and paper. "What does everyone want? They serve almost anything here- and lots of it."

A spark went off in Allen's eyes. "Anything?"

I put a hand to my face and groaned. "Oh no..."

-.-

If you have a choice, avoid watching everyone I'm with eat. Allen's obviously a bottomless pit, and the others eat almost as much.

I had just gotten my soba off the cart when they started eating. I blinked- less than five minutes later, everyone was grabbing their next meal. I put the soba back down, turning away, no longer hungry. It's like a starving man could get full just watching them- that or get sick.

Matt glanced in my direction. "Aren't you hungry?"

I shook my head as I answered, "Not anymore."

Roughly half an hour later, everyone else finished eating. They sent away the three carts that had held their (and still had my) food on it.

"What are we going to do now, Max?" the little girl Angellica asked.

"Well, it's pretty late... I guess we should go to bed." Max answered.

The younger teens- not Allen- all stood up and rushed to get the rooms they wanted.

Taylor and Angellica decided to share a room, as did Matt and Terror. Max took the room next to Taylor and Angellica's. Allen and I got the last two rooms that were next to each other.

I stopped by Allen's room with a pad and pen. He gave me a questioning look when I gave it to him with the message "Be careful what you think."

"Why?" Allen scribbled and gave it back.

"Didn't you read the files? The Angellica girl can read minds."

"So do you think they know about the HQ?" Allen wrote with a worried face.

"I said she can read minds, not scan the person's memories, Moyashi." I wrote back. "Just don't think about them unless we're far away from Angellica. I guess names are all right but don't think about why we're here or what we do."

Allen glanced at me. "And writing notes keeps her from reading our minds?"

"She's asleep now, but the guys on the other side aren't. The walls are pretty thin." I wrote. "One of us will have to report to Komui early in the morning before they wake up."

"I'll do it- you reported today. Any ideas on how we're going to get them back?"

I shook my head. "I guess we'll just have to wait until they trust us."

Allen sighed. "At least we get to stay in a suite while we're at it."

"Whatever, Moyashi. Just make sure you wake up on time." I left the pad with him and retired to my room.

-.-

Allen was gone by dawn when I woke up.

"The Moyashi must have woken up at midnight..." I muttered as I got a glass of water. I headed to the area with the TV, hearing it turn on.

Max was sitting on the couch, her back to me, surfing channels. I stood behind her, sipping my water as I tried to figure out what was on.

"Che. The Usagi's lectures are more exciting than those shows." I stated in between sips.

Max jumped, the remote flying from her hands. I caught it as she turned to face me. She sighed in relief when she saw it was just me. "How long were you standing there? I didn't even hear you until now."

I sat down in the chair near the couch. "For about the past ten minutes." Max's eyes twitched and I thought I heard her say something like her senses were getting dull. "Have you seen the Moyashi this morning?" I asked.

"Allen? No, but I heard some noise about an hour ago- might have been him." Max said. I tossed her the remote and she flipped the channel, stopping on the news. "What is that?" She exclaimed.

I raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the TV. "Oh man..."

There were five Akumas on the news. They were just flying over the city- not firing for once. Three were Level Ones, another was a Level Two and the last was a bulging Level Three- probably ready to become a Level Four.

They must have been sent to get Max and the others! I frowned as I got up. "Max- you and the others, stay inside and away from the windows or any openings. Stay in one room if possible, and be ready to run if anything happens."

Max got up as I made my way to the window. "Kanda? Where are you going? What are those things?"

I propped open the window and looked at her over my shoulder. "Get the others and hide. I'm going to find Allen. We'll take care of this." I jumped out and landed on the roof below.

-.-

It wasn't long before I found Allen.

"Moyashi! Why didn't you go back and get me when you saw the Akuma?" I yelled as I jumped onto the rooftop he was on.

"Well I didn't know what levels they were until I was already going there!" he replied, his eye activated. "What did you tell them to do?"

"Told Max to get them hidden then jumped out the window. Didn't exactly have time to explain." I said as we jumped to the next roof.

"You have Mugen, right?" Allen asked.

"Che." I placed my hand on the hilt. "There they are, up ahead."

We jumped off the last rooftop before the Akumas, activating our weapons.

Allen activated Crowned Clown as I used Hell's Insects, First Illusion to get rid of the Level Ones.

"Heeheehee!" The Level Three smiled widely. "Exorcists!" It turned and faced us.

"Not the supposedly new ones..." The Level Two stated as it turned. "But beating up the two of you will be just fine with me!" It gave an eery grin.

I scowled. "Che. The Noahs found out about them." I sliced Mugen right through the Level Two at the same time as Allen's Clown Edge. I pulled Mugen out and turned to the Level Three.

"At least we can destroy them," Allen added, deactivating Clown Edge and turning his left arm into a sword.

"I don't see how a Moyashi like you can carry such a big weapon." I muttered. Allen ignored it for the meantime.

"Heeheehee! Exorcist!" The Level Three repeated. It didn't look like it could attack, being so close to becoming a Level Four. All it had to do was kill a few more people and we'd be stuck fighting a monster in New York City.

"Can't you say anything else?" I muttered. We charged at it with out swords-

And literally bounced right off.

"Heeheehee, special move Exorcists! Force fields!" The Level Three cackled.

"Che." I held Mugen tighter. We attacked again, hoping to be able to break through by force.

"Heeheehee, it won't work Exorcists, it won't work!" The Level Three smirked.

I glared at it as we landed back on the roof.

"If only you could actually kill it by staring at it." Allen said.

"If I had that power, a lot of people would be dead." I replied. "We have to get it distracted..."

"BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEEEE-"

I frowned then pulled Allen down. "Cover your head!"

"What's going on?" Allen asked. A split second later, there was a loud explosion right above the Level Three's head.

I smirked. "We're about to find out what's so special about Max and the others."

The smoke cleared and the Level Three was turning around, confused.

"Heeheehee, where did that come from?"

"Up here, Blob!" Max's voice yelled from above. "You have no right to be here!"

Terror and Matt landed on the rooftop, folding their wings as they dropped more items for homemade bombs. They sat down, quickly getting to work. Angellica, Taylor and Max all had bombs in their arms, flying around the Akuma and dropping them at different angles.

"Are those... Wings?" Allen stared in awe. I hit him with the hilt of Mugen, resulting with him glaring at me.

"This is no time to stare, Moyashi! It's distracted and letting its force field drop! Here's our chance!" I hissed. Allen nodded and we made our assault-

Just as Max threw a bomb at the Akuma.


	4. Chapter 3

Summ: Four years ago, Tiedoll and Marie find a certain teenager asleep and unaffected by the poisonous gas from Akumas around. Now, in the present, Exorcists Allen Walker and Yuu Kanda head over to New York City to recruit a certain group of Avian-Americans. The question soon arises after running into Max- is Kanda who he says he is?

"text" in English

"-text-" in Japanese

"_text_" Angel talking/putting thoughts in someone's head

Note: Don't own DGM or MR.

Once again, if there's any "i" or "/i" left there, it's remnants of the coding I used to make the words italic in deviantART, but apparently that coding doesn't work here... probably 'cause the Greater/Less Than signs don't work here on FF...

* * *

THIRD ACT

I woke up in pain. Nothing more than usual, but I still ached pretty badly.

I opened my eyes and saw Allen lying down on the ground on some blankets like me. I sat up, groaning and rubbing my head. I didn't remember anything after attacking the Akuma- like if we succeeded in destroying it and how we got back to the suite.

"Are you Okay, Kanda?" I turned and saw Max and the others all sitting on the couch and chairs, watching me.

"I- I'm fine." I said. "What did you do that made me so sore?"

"You and Allen ran into the monster right when a bomb Max threw went off. We weren't sure if you two were Okay or if the monster was even gone- there was no trace of it." Angellica explained.

"We're sorry- we didn't expect you two to attack it while we were bombing it." Taylor stated, frowning slightly.

I shook my head. "We have gone through worse," I told them. "What happened to my sword?"

Matt had it in his lap, wrapped in brown paper. "I have no idea how it could have survived the explosion, but it did."

Terror took it and handed it to me. "That's so awesome! Can you teach me how to use a sword one day?"

I shrugged. "Maybe..." Terror grinned.

Max cleared her throat. "Um, not to be rude or anything, but what was that thing? What was Allen wearing when we found him? Why did he have a sword and missing his left arm? What's with his left arm, anyway? It's all red and there's a cross branded into it… And we've been ignoring this question since yesterday, but why does he have that scar and white hair?"

I blinked.

"Heh... We were thinking these up while you two were out cold..." Max turned a slight pink.

"I guess I'll have to tell you... Might make more sense coming from another teen than Komui..." I muttered. Why wasn't the Moyashi waking up? It might be better for him to explain...

"Why are you going to take us to London?" Angellica suddenly blurted out. Max gave her a look, and she said, "Sorry, I couldn't help it..."

Allen got up a moment later, rubbing his eyes. "We're telling them?" I nodded.

"There's this place called the Black Order. They assigned us to take the five of you back with us. This is a recruit mission." I explained quickly.

"The Black Order? Sounds like a movie! What are we being recruited for? Are we going to become movie stars?" Taylor exclaimed. "Oh, I've always wanted to become famous! Think of all the fame and the fashion! We-"

Matt covered Taylor's mouth. "Go on,"

"The Black Order is a building. It's where us Exorcists, along with scientists and Finders live and train. Finders go out to gather information about sightings that make us believe there is a new Innocence user or fragment of Innocence in an area. The scientists study the Innocence and invent ways to make our missions easier. Our supervisor, Komui Lee, fixes out weapons when they get broken. Hevlaska is a... person, who tests a person's snychro rate. And Exorcists, like us, destroy Akuma like the one you saw today, and fight the Noah." Allen told them.

"Hold up- you're taking us to a place with scientists?" Terror asked. "No way are we going, right Max?"

"At least hear us out." I interrupted before Max could say anything.

"There's this person, the Millennium Earl, who raises the souls of the dead when someone deeply misses them. Then he turns those souls into Akuma, killing machines who kill the person who called them, take their body as their human disguise, and kill others. The more they kill, the stronger they get. The highest level we've seen is a Level Four, and it destroyed our original HQ in Europe before we could stop it." Allen continued. "The Noah are sort of like his servants and followers, and his family as well. Many Exorcists were killed by the Noah- Kanda and I are one of the few that have fought Noah one on one and survived."

"What is Innocence? You keep on talking about it," Angellica said.

You want to say you keep on seeing it in our minds too, right Angel? I thought, giving a faint smile. Angellica gasped and grabbed onto Max's shirt.

"Innocence is what makes us able to destroy the Akuma. Kanda's is his sword, and mine is my left arm. Innocence made it able to do these," He demonstrated the several forms he was able to turn it into then deactivated it. "It purifies the souls of the Akuma so they can move on to the after life in peace. It can also rid a Noah of the Noah inside them, turning them back to the human they were before they became the Noah's host- or at least, mine can. It usually takes form in a weapon form, like Kanda's. Our friend Lavi's is a hammer; Lenalee, Komui's younger sister, has the only case of Crystal type Innocence, where her blood turns into her Dark Boots; Krory is a Parasite Type like me- his are his teeth, and he sucks the blood of an Akuma to kill them."

"So you have a vampire as a friend?" Matt asked.

"He doesn't really like being called that, but he's really nice." Allen replied.

"I still don't see why you want us to go with you to this Order," Max stated. "Or why you think we belong there."

"Your wings. They think that it's a new form of Parasite Type Innocence that actually mutated you enough for you to grow wings." Allen continued.

"Our wings? I don't understand..." Max said.

"They don't seem like much of a weapon if you ask me," Terror stated.

"Che. So having wings is supposed to be normal?" I muttered.

"Well it's not like you have to deal with having them- all you two have to deal with are the doctors from the Asylum calling you back." Matt countered.

I scowled. "Shut up Iggy."

Everyone glared at me, including the Moyashi.

"My name is Matt, not Iggy." Matt stated.

"You don't sound so sure." I said.

"Kanda I thought we were going to tell them about the Order and everything they'll need to expect when we get there before we said we know who they are." Allen glared at me harshly.

"Why should we? When I came to the Order four years ago, no one sugar coated the fact that I'd be risking my life every time I stepped out, or the fact that I just lost the only family I ever had. Cross didn't even bother telling you the good and bad things- he just sent you off. Now if you ask me, it's about time they know we've known all along- about them being 98 percent human and two percent avian, about The School, about Angel being a mind reader, even about the Erasers." I hissed.

"H- how do you know all that?" Max whispered.

"None of that were in the files, Kanda..." Allen said.

A stray thought crossed my mind.

"Che." I walked out of the suite, the only words any of them had to say was Angel's soft "Fang?"

-.-

I didn't know where I was going. I stuck out like a sore thumb shirtless and covered in bandages, so after a few minutes of aimless walking, I went to the Finders' alley.

"Well, well, well... look what we've got here..." A man in a suit and sunglasses blocked my path.

"-Get out of my face, bastard.-" I replied.

The man gave me a slightly confused look. "-Japanese, hm?-"

I scowled. "-I don't know you or have any business with an idiot like you.-"

The man glared at me. "-How can you forget so easily, Fang?-"

I narrowed my eyes. "-My name is NOT Fang. I don't know who you are talking about, and I certainly would have remembered an ugly face like yours.-"

"-You can't fool me, Fang.-" The man frowned, shoving his finger into my chest.

"-For the last f***ing time, I am not Fang.-" I said through gritted teeth. I gave a him a solid punch in the stomach, and threw him into the wall. "-My name isn't anything close.-"

I turned on my heels and left him.

"-You'll regret leaving them, Fang... One day...-"

-.-

I didn't bother returning back to the suite until midnight. I expected everyone to be asleep, but still tried my best not to make the door close quietly.

When I passed the couch, I saw a sleeping figure on it.

I glanced at the figure and saw Max sound asleep. I sighed, grabbed a blanket from my room, placed it on top of her, and fell asleep in a chair.

-.-

"Wake up, Kanda! It's time to get off your lazy behind!" Max's not so gentle voice woke me from a sleep I was sure wasn't a good one.

I shot up from my chair, panting and soaked in my own cold sweat. I raised a hand to my forehead, my other loosening it's grip on the arm of the chair. I sighed.

"Allen took the others to talk with that Komui guy using er... A video golem or something like that..." Max told me from the eating area. "Told him I'd stay behind in case you woke up. Said I could go talk to Komui later when you went to report."

I nodded and ran a hand through my hair. "We'll go tonight then."

"But wouldn't it be very early in the morning in London then? Wouldn't Komui be asleep?" Max asked as she joined me in the living room. "Coffee?"

I shook my head. "No thanks. Besides, it would be late night there now and he's awake. Komui doesn't really sleep much 'cause he has a bunch of paperwork that Reever and the other scientists are trying to get him to finish. Plus, Finders and Exorcists are coming in and out of the HQ every hour, leaving or returning from a mission, or reporting new information. He has to be awake for that."

Max gave me a curious look. "So this entire thing about Akuma and the Black Order... It's all real, huh?"

I leaned back in the chair, crossing my arms and closing my eyes. "Would I really be here if it wasn't?"

"...how did you know about the School and the Erasers?" Max asked me after a while.

"I just do." I answered in a steady tone.

"What about with Angel? How did you know she could read minds?" Max inquired.

"I said I lost my only family four years ago when I joined the Order." I repeated from last night. I waited for Max's quick assumption.

"Then how come we didn't find any traces of wings on you when we were putting on the bandages?" Max wondered anxiously.

I opened an eye and stared at her. "You'd have to know what to look for,"

Max gulped. "But I didn't see anything! I bandaged you myself and I didn't see anything!"

I shrugged. "Then maybe I'm not the one you're looking for."

She seemed a bit annoyed with me now. "Tell me the truth! Are you Fang or not?"

"...Not." I replied after adding in suspense to get on her nerves.

Max inhaled sharply then turned her back to me, her arms crossed. "Hmph!"

I smiled slightly. "Che. Still the same..."

"Stop that!"

"Stop what?" I replied automatically.

"Acting like you know how I was back then!" Max answered.

I shrugged. "Whatever."

I could practically feel the rage coming off of Max. It was fun getting on her nerves.

Max sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "So... If you're not Fang... Then who are you?"

"Kanda." I answered plainly.

"No real-" Max began only to be interrupted by the others walking in.

"Max, guess what! That Komui guy said that he can teach me how to make robots when we get there!" Gasman exclaimed while walking in.

"I think you would be better off learning from Iggy, Gazzy. Komui's robots tend to go crazy." I stated, knowing that no one wanted another person around who made robots like Komui's.

"Crazy? Like eyes turn red and start shooting lasers crazy? Or spinning around in circles crazy?" Nudge asked, no one seeming bothered by me using their real names instead of the names they were going by.

"One started attacking every Exorcist in the Order and wouldn't stop until they were dead." I said.

"Another one of his robots tried turning me and Lavi into omelets." Allen added.

"But all of them were destroyed by Lenalee before anyone died." I reassured them. "Though there were a ton of injuries..."

"But there was the one that actually helped us the time Komutive D was passed around. Uh Komui EX... Made an antidote and saved us from being zombies forever." Allen muttered as they all decided to sit down.

"Zombies? Cool!" Gasman exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Well it's sorta a long story..." Allen replied while scratching his head.

Iggy rolled his eyes. "And we have nothing but time."

I sighed. "Well I for one do not want to hear this story after living through it. I'll be on the roof if you need me." I could feel everyone staring at me as I stood up, all ready to get up and look out the window in case I decided to go that way and finally solve the mystery of if I was really Fang. "Che." I rolled my eyes and left through the door and took the stairs to the roof.


	5. Chapter 4

Summ: Four years ago, Tiedoll and Marie find a certain teenager asleep and unaffected by the poisonous gas from Akumas around. Now, in the present, Exorcists Allen Walker and Yuu Kanda head over to New York City to recruit a certain group of Avian-Americans. The question soon arises after running into Max- is Kanda who he says he is?

"text" in English

"-text-" in Japanese

"_text_" Angel talking/putting thoughts in someone's head

Note: Don't own DGM or MR.

Once again, if there's any "i" or "/i" left there, it's remnants of the coding I used to make the words italic in deviantART, but apparently that coding doesn't work here... probably 'cause the Greater/Less Than signs don't work here on FF...

(1) Hitler Mustache refers to that guy... with the Hitler 'tache. His name escapes me.

* * *

ACT FOUR

"Kanda?" A gentle voice called from behind me.

I didn't reply. She knew that I had heard her opening the stair door. I just continued looking out at the horizon, trying to lock up my thoughts again.

"Kanda, is it all right if I join you?" She asked me. "_Say yes._" She tried to control my mind so I would follow her will.

I rolled my eyes. "Che. What is it, Angel? I'm trying to meditate." I replied, making no offer for her to stay.

"I just wanted to make sure you were all right." Angel said. I could tell she was concentrating on trying to read my mind in case I let something slip.

If all you're gonna do is read my mind, then leave. You won't find out anything that I haven't told you already. I thought, annoyed.

Angel seemed slightly surprised that I knew she was reading my mind. "I still want to know if you're all right," She said.

"Couldn't be better. Now leave me alone." I replied bitterly.

Angel frowned. "Are you sure?" She tried to order me to open up. She also used the "puppy dog look" on me.

"That look and your powers aren't going to work on me. Leave me alone." I said plainly, rolling my eyes.

Angel sighed and sat down next to me on the ledge of the roof, her feet dangling off the edge. "Can't you just tell us and let it be over with?"

"Tell you what?" I answered, hoping Angel would just let me be.

"Who you really are." Angel pressed.

I sighed as I realized she wouldn't stop, and would probably keep on reading my mind and trying to force me into telling who I was if I didn't. "My name is Kanda Yuu." I said firmly. "I am an Exorcist of the Black Order, Europe Branch. I am here on a mission with the Moyashi Allen Walker to recruit five possible Innocence users to become Exorcists. If they don't come voluntarily, I have permission to bring them back by force." I stood up. "Now, excuse me." I walked past her and went for a walk in the park.

-.-

Max was glaring at me slightly as we went to the alley to call Komui. I assumed Angel told her what happened on the roof. She was probably mad that I was able to resist Angel's mind reading and mind control, and that I was being stubborn about if I was Fang or myself.

Well too bad, I'm not letting up anytime soon.

We reached the alley, and the Finders let us pass to the video golem waiting for us. It connected to one in Komui's office, and the image of a desk covered in paperwork appeared before them. A white beret could barely be seen in the middle of it.

"Where's this Komui person?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow, not seeing the beret.

I sighed. "Hold on." I then yelled into the golem. "Komui! Lenalee is getting married to Hitler Mustache! (1)"

"Waaaaah Lenalee!" Komui yelled as he jolted upward in his seat, causing papers to fly everywhere. I saw Max twitch out of the corner of my eye.

"Relax, Komui. Put down the laser." I said as I saw him reach for it. "She's not. Just needed you to wake up."

Komui frowned at me as he put up the laser gun. His gaze glanced to Max then back at me. "This is Maximum?"

"Just call me Max," She replied, a little nervously.

"Very nice to meet you! I'm Komui Lee," He smiled brightly, despite the fact he was just about to go kill- or at least injure greatly- Hitler Mustache because I said he was marrying Lenalee.

"Komui, should Moyashi and I bring them back?" I interrupted whoever was about to speak next. I saw Max staring at me from the corner of my eye. She probably didn't want to leave- they've been living here in New York for the past four years, and had lived here before that too. They probably didn't want to go back to a place with scientists either.

"Ah, yes, yes, let's see..." Komui pushed his glasses up his nose. He paused to think. "Ah, yes, go ahead, go ahead. Tell Allen to open up the Ark and bring you all back here in exactly an hour."

Max opened her mouth to object but I interrupted again. "Che. We'll be back then." I nodded slightly, and Komui waved good-bye just as I ended the connection.

Max glared at me. "We never agreed to going there!" I didn't need to be a mind-reader to tell that she was most likely cursing me out.

"I'm sure Angel told you this from this morning- 'if they don't come voluntarily, I have permission to bring them back by force.' We are going back to the hotel, get the others, all check out and say we will be leaving New York, most likely permanently, then return here so Moyashi can open up the Ark and take us back to the Order." I replied, saying the last part harsher than needed. I narrowed my eyes in annoyance when Max crossed her arms and refused to budge. I "che"d as I grabbed her wrist, dragging her back to the hotel.

-.-

The walk back through the Ark was full of complaints. I had stopped them from getting room service- apparently, they were all starving, though they had plenty of time to eat while Max and I were gone- and their stomachs were almost as loud as their voices. Iggy kept on walking into things because the others neglected to tell him there was something in his way, all awed by the appearance of the Ark, which left me being his guide after he opened a door that led to no where and was about to enter it. Nudge kept on trying to cheer everyone up, by talking nonstop about things like how awesome it'll be not having to hide their wings, and being able to do what they want without worrying about Erasers- I "che"d mentally, knowing that the Akuma were worse, and they were just trading one bad thing for another. And Ga-

iPOOT!/i

"Gaz!"

"Sorry!"

I grabbed Iggy, preventing him from bumping into a lamppost while he was trying to avoid the rotten stench that had came from the thirteen year old. He thanked me as I guided us away from the invisible cloud of stench that could have killed us if we stayed there a second longer- I'm not joking. Gazman has done it way too much than any teenager should have been capable of doing without eating the entire world's stock of beans. I could hear the others' complaints about going blind from the stench, and unable to get away from it.

I rolled my eyes as I told Iggy to walk around an uncovered manhole. "Is he always that gassy?"

"Pretty much." Iggy responded plainly. "This is just more than usual."

I frowned slightly. "He better not have a room near mine. If he does, I'll die from the toxic smell instead of on the battlefield."

The blind teenager laughed. I stared at him for a moment, before I started to laugh with him, at the ridiculous idea of dying because of a fart.

"It's the end of the world!" Allen exclaimed over dramatically. I didn't even notice the others had caught up with us. "BaKanda laughed!"

I glared at him. "Shut up, Moyashi." I told Iggy to turn right as we near the street that with the door that led to the Headquarters. Everyone ignored me for the most part, except Iggy who was still relying on me to guide him around since everyone else was being easily distracted.

Allen reached for the door knob of the door labeled "London HQ". "Stay close to me, or else you'll get lost." He turned the knob as I rolled my eyes and muttered "They'll still get lost if they're following you, Moyashi," causing him to call me BaKanda before opening the door and stepping through.


	6. Chapter 5

Summ: Four years ago, Tiedoll and Marie find a certain teenager asleep and unaffected by the poisonous gas from Akumas around. Now, in the present, Exorcists Allen Walker and Yuu Kanda head over to New York City to recruit a certain group of Avian-Americans. The question soon arises after running into Max- is Kanda who he says he is?

"text" in English

"-text-" in Japanese

"_text_" Angel talking/putting thoughts in someone's head

Note: Don't own DGM or MR.

Once again, if there's any "i" or "/i" left there, it's remnants of the coding I used to make the words italic in deviantART, but apparently that coding doesn't work here... probably 'cause the Greater/Less Than signs don't work here on FF...

* * *

ACT FIVE

Lenalee and Lavi greeted us as we all stepped out of the Ark.

"Your mission was quick too, Lavi?" Allen asked as he closed the Gateway.

Lavi nodded, probably wanting to skip that and get to finding out about the supposedly new Exorcists we had just brought back. "Yeah, just a bunch of Level Ones. Krory and I managed to get rid of them quickly- we came back last night." He quickly changed the topic, clarifying my suspicions. "Are these the new Exorcists you were sent to get, Yuu, Allen?"

I simply "che"d and put my hand on Mugen's hilt. "Don't call me that, Baka Usagi." I glared at him as Allen nodded, answering his question.

"This is Maximum Ride, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel." Allen quickly introduced them. "These two are our friends and comrades, Lenalee Lee and Lavi."

"You're Komui's sister?" Max asked Lenalee. The entire Flock seemed shocked. "You don't look crazy..."

Lenalee smiled and laughed. "Sorry for my brother, he's just a little over protective of me..." Allen, Lavi and I stared blankly at her. A little? "We should probably get going, Brother wants to see you all, then take them to Hevlaska to check if they're actually Innocence compatible."

Nudge opened her mouth to ask who Hevlaska was- and probably a ton more.

"Che. Come on." I walked ahead of them towards Komui's office. The sooner we got this over with, the sooner I could get some rest.

-.-

As soon as we reached Komui's office, he ushered us back down to where Hevlaska waited. Lenalee and Allen got pulled aside along the way by Reever, leaving just the Flock, Komui, Lavi and myself.

"Whoa, wait, what's going on?" Max demanded as Komui pushed us onto the elevator. Komui provided no answer, instead asking them all to unfold their wings. She looked at me, hoping for an answer.

"You'll find out soon enough." I answered. Lavi stood near me, eye opening wide when the Flock revealed their wings. I could tell he was already memorizing every single detail of them.

The exact second we landed at the bottom, white tentacle like things shot out and grabbed the Flock members. Immediately, they tried to spread their wings and fly away, struggling to get free.

"Oi, stop struggling! It'll take longer if you don't keep still." I yelled up at them. They eventually stopped, after a lot of yelling at them.

Hevlaska put them down, not having said anything while checking their compatibility. The Flock sighed in relief, obviously never having felt more relieved about being back on the ground.

"Well, Hevlaska? Are they Exorcists?" Komui asked, sounding a little too eager to begin inspecting their wings.

"It... It is odd," Hevlaska started, and even though I couldn't see her eyes, I knew her gaze was on me. After making sure no one could see my expression, I sent her a look to tell her to keep it vague. She nodded slightly before continuing. "Their Innocence reminds me of someone I tested before-" She was quickly interrupted.

"Fang? Fang was here?" Nudge yelled out the words right before Max could.

"Where is he? Is he still alive?" Max asked instead. I could tell they were all anxious to hear about their missing friend.

I shook my head very slightly so that the others wouldn't notice if I did- expect maybe Lavi, but he wasn't looking my way at that point.

"I do not know about his current whereabouts, though the last time I've heard of, he was alive."

"And when was this?" Max voiced for all of the Flock. Their hopes had risen- the sixth member was still alive!

"Four years ago, less than half a year after he came."

Their hopes fell again. They all said a disappointed chorus of "oh"s.

"Hevlaska, their Innocence rates?" Komui asked, trying to get us back on topic.

Hevlaska nodded her head. "They are definitely Innocence users. Maximum's sync rate is 75, Iggy's is 78, Nudge's is 76, Gasman's is 79, and Angel's 83. Angel's is only higher because her Innocence has evolved to the point it made her able to read minds, and control others. Maximum's is the lowest only because of the surgeries done to her body has interfered with her connection with her Innocence."

"Are those good rates...?" Gasman asked cautiously. He looked at Komui, Lavi and myself.

"As long as you don't drop to less than twenty percent, you will be fine." Komui answered. "Thank you, Hevlaska. I'll drop by to talk to you later," Hevlaska nodded her welcome, and we left.

I saw Angel grab onto her brother's hand when she saw my thoughts as we left Hevlaska:

iNow for the scientists./i

-.-

I could tell Komui wanted to inspect their wings right away- that was probably the reason why Angel was clinging onto her brother tightly. I was glad that my Innocence wasn't part of my body- it would have been painful if I had to go through what Allen has to every time he gets his Innocence hurt. Thinking this didn't exactly help Angel.

Komui decided to be... well, nice isn't the right word for it... Less insane than normal. Instead of dragging them to inspect their wings as soon as we got off the elevator, he decided to let Johnny to measure them for their uniforms. He probably figured that it would be best to get their uniforms done first in case they would end up unable to fold or unfold their wings after his inspection.

Johnny seemed surprised when he saw us walk in- it might have been because he was probably expecting the new Exorcists to be older, or at least that there wouldn't be anyone younger than Allen. He quickly stood up, putting the things he was working on down on the table.

"Johnny, these are our newest Exorcists, the Flock- Maximum Ride, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel. Flock, this is Johnny. He is one of our many scientists," Komui quickly introduced them all.

Johnny nodded slightly. "Nice to meet you." He turned his head to look at Komui before asking, "They're here to be fitted, right?"

I mentally laughed at the Flock's expressions. They were already terrified when learned that Johnny was a scientist- it shouldn't have been hard to figure out, we were in the science division here- and apparently they thought that "fitting" might have had another meaning that they didn't know of.

"He's our tailor. He makes all of our uniforms." Lavi explained, and instantly the Flock relaxed.

Lavi and I sat down in chairs nearby, helping Johnny record their measurements as Komui was dragged off to do some work by Reever.

Lavi leaned over, and asked a bit too loudly, "Hey, Yuu, what do you think about Max?"

His words got the attention of some of the Flock. Max, obviously, heard, since her name was called- she glanced over at us as Johnny asked her to spread out her arms. Iggy tensed slightly, as if he wanted to see what was going to happen next, but not at the same time. He pretended to act casual as he continued to talk with Nudge, Gasman and Angel while waiting for their turns. I assumed Angel heard it too, but was distracted with the possible designs they could get for their outfits.

"Che." I rolled my eyes as I wrote down the number Johnny called out on my paper under Max's measurements. "Don't call me Yuu." I said instead of answering his question, ignoring it as if I didn't hear it.

The baka usagi frowned slightly. "Aw, why won't you tell me, Yuu? Do you like her?" He pressed onward. "Is that the case?" I rolled my eyes, not bothering to answer any of his questions, despite the looks I was getting from the Flock as they listened into the conversation.


	7. Chapter 6

Summ: Four years ago, Tiedoll and Marie find a certain teenager asleep and unaffected by the poisonous gas from Akumas around. Now, in the present, Exorcists Allen Walker and Yuu Kanda head over to New York City to recruit a certain group of Avian-Americans. The question soon arises after running into Max- is Kanda who he says he is?

"text" in English

"-text-" in Japanese

"_text_" Angel talking/putting thoughts in someone's head

Note: Don't own DGM or MR.

Once again, if there's any "i" or "/i" left there, it's remnants of the coding I used to make the words italic in deviantART, but apparently that coding doesn't work here... probably 'cause the Greater/Less Than signs don't work here on FF...

This time you get to see into the heads of Lavi/Max. This is the last complete chapter I have, I have to finish the next one, but can't do it until I figure out how I want the Flock's Exorcist outfits to look like...

* * *

ACT SIX

iLavi POV/i

After dinner, one of the Flock members approached me. I almost mistook her for a scientist because I wasn't paying attention, but once she called out to me I remembered who she was- it was Max, the girl I was teasing Yuu about. She seemed a bit nervous about something, fidgeting slightly, eyes glancing behind her to the table where the rest of the Flock was sitting at, finishing their meals.

"La- Lavi, right?" Max asked as she approached me.

I nodded as I jutted a hand into my jean pocket, the other running through my hair that I had let down from the bandana. "Yep, that's me," I said cheerfully. "Is there something I can help you with?" I cocked my head to the side slightly, grinning like an idiot for no reason at all.

Max hesitated, fingering a few strands of her hair before clearing her throat and speaking. "Um, you remember that guy we were asking Hevlaska about?" She asked me- I could tell just by her tone that what she wanted to ask.

"Yeah, some guy named Fang, right?" I asked to clarify; she nodded. "What about him?"

"Do you remember seeing him around here before?" Max wondered. "Maybe know where he is now?"

"Well if I did, I didn't know him by his name," I answered. "Mind telling me how he looks or something about him?" She nodded slightly, pausing to remember the details.

"He's roughly my height, maybe an inch or two taller… He has dark black eyes; he's lanky like the rest of us, and dark hair. The last time we saw him, his hair was pretty long, longer than mine, that he usually tied up in a tie messily…" She said slowly as she recalled his face. She continued a bit further, a mental picture forming in my mind. "So, do you remember seeing him…?" She said when she finished.

I gave a slight shrug as I looked at the mental image in my mind. "To be honest, it sounds like you're describing Yuu. I don't remember seeing anyone else with that description besides him," I answered. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "But then again, didn't Hevlaska say that this Fang was last seen four years ago?" She nodded, raising an eyebrow as if to ask me, iYour point?/i "I've only been here for about three."

She groaned. "You could have told me that in the first place," She muttered, putting her hands to her face.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, scratching the back of my head. "You could always try asking Lenalee or Yuu, they've been here the longest. Or Komui, if you're desperate enough," She shuddered self-consciously, reaching for her shoulder and rubbing it slowly as if just the thought of talking to Komui made her hurt. Then again, the "inspection" of their wings was only a couple hours ago, and it sure sounded painful.

"Thanks anyway, though," She smiled weakly, a smile I returned as she returned to her table with the rest of the Flock.

iMax POV/i

I mentally groaned as I sat down back at the table. I refrained from cursing, in an attempt to keep Angel from hearing anything bad. Even without reading my mind, they figured out what I had learned from the redheaded Exorcist.

"No luck?" Iggy asked, not exactly expecting an answer different than what they all suspected.

I shook my head as I ran a hand through my hair. "No. Lavi said he wasn't even here when Hevlaska said she last heard of Fang and the only person who matches Fang's description that he knows of is Kanda," I replied.

"Anything that could help us?" Nudge wondered, tilting her head to the side slightly, managing not to ask unnecessary questions for once.

I gave a slight shrug, sighing once again. "He did say we could ask Kanda himself or Lenalee…" I hesitated before saying our third option. "Or Komui…"

Everyone shuddered at the thought of talking with Komui after what he had done to us- we could barely feel our wings at the moment.

"I don't think Kanda would tell us anything, since it is a possibility that he is Fang… He's not helping us anyway with the situation… And Komui might just end up trying to test on us again…" I stated hesitantly. "I suppose our best shot is with Lenalee…"

"I'm your best shot at what?" Well, speak of the devil. I looked up to see Lenalee standing behind me, holding her clipboard, her eyebrow slightly raised in confusion.

"We were wondering if you could help us with something," Angel answered her- I couldn't tell if she was using her mind control powers or not, but I figured it wouldn't really matter, since Lenalee seemed nice enough to help out without it or not.

Lenalee tilted her head slightly. "Sure, if I can. What is it?" She sat down in the empty space at our table, placing her clipboard in front of her.

"We asked Lavi for help about it, but Lavi didn't know the answer," Nudge started, happy to have an excuse to talk. "We're trying to find someone. Hevlaska told us that he was here four years ago, but she doesn't know where he is now. We were hoping that someone would be able to tell us if he was around here, or where he last went. So like, since Lavi didn't know, he told Max to go ask you, Kanda, or Komui, but Kanda's been way to stubborn to help and we don't exactly want to ask Komui at the moment because we're still sore from our evaluations and all," She paused to take a breath- Lenalee stared at her, almost not believing she managed to say all that without pausing. "So we want to know if you've seen him,"

Lenalee blinked as she took all of it in. "Well, what's he like, then?" I repeated the description I gave Lavi; she paused for a moment, thinking. "Are you sure you're not describing Kanda?"

I opened my mouth to say that we weren't, before a familiar and haunting voice spoke.

"They're not looking for Kanda, they're looking for me, Fang."


	8. Chapter 7

AN: I don't own Max/the Flock, or Kanda/DGM cast. They belong to their respective creators/owners, which in no way is me.

...aiya, all my italics aren't showing up... I'll try to fix that, and once again if there's any lower case "i"s that shouldn't be there, or "/i"s then that's just me forgetting to erase that 'cause that's the coding I have to use to get italics on deviantART.

Sorry for the slow update and the fact that it's so short D: I'm already working on the next chapter...

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ACT SEVEN

Max POV

My eyes opened up wide and I quickly stood up, turning around quickly- Fang! Where was he? I swear, as soon as I saw him I'll beat him up for leaving us and worrying us out of our minds for something as simple as disappearing-

I blinked when he wasn't there. Did he get a new power that made him invisible?

I sat back down as I realized something. I had forgotten about Gazzy's powers of mimicking sound- I turned to look at him, and he sheepishly nodded, confirming my suspicions that it was him.

"Sorry, Max," He muttered. "I thought maybe she'd be able to remember Fang if she heard his voice…" He looked down, a bit shamed.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "It's all right, Gaz… I can't blame you…" I looked up at Lenalee, waiting for her answer.

Lenalee bit her lip as she thought about it. "The voice sounds familiar, but I'm not sure… I might have met this Fang before, but I keep on thinking of Kanda…" She sighed too. "Maybe we should ask General Tiedoll and his team- they know Kanda, maybe if Kanda really is Fang they'd know," She suggested, shrugging slightly. "It's worth a shot, isn't it?" She stood up, grabbing her clipboard too. "I'll go ask Brother where the General is, if you wish,"

We all gave a faint smile to Lenalee, giving her our silent thanks. She waved her hand goodbye as she left us.

Kanda POV

I sat on my bed, focusing my thoughts together so that anyone that could read minds- i.e., Angel- wouldn't be able to listen into them. I was thinking _private _thoughts about my past, and didn't want anyone to overhear me. It would most likely lead to more accusations on several things besides being Fang- accusations I didn't feel like dealing with at the moment.

There was a knock on my door- I sighed, and repressed the memories of my past. "It's unlocked," I answered slightly bitter in tone. The knob shook a bit as it was opened, revealing Max in her Exorcist uniform. It was simple and straightforward, but I figured it was just because Johnny thought something that wasn't flashy would suit her. It was black mainly, of course, and had red and silver trimmings like the rest of ours, with various small pins and the Rose Cross on her chest. Her jacket had long sleeves that stopped barely above her wrists, showing fingerless gloves. She had what simply appeared to be black jeans, and, unlike majority of the Exorcists', her pant legs actually fit over her boots. Unless she didn't realize that it was better to wear her boots over them, but that was highly unlikely.

"Hey," She said. Max seemed slightly nervous, and out of breath. I was just wondering what for when she continued. "Komui assigned me to my first mission."

"Che." I shifted slightly, not finding the point in telling me this. It wasn't like I was her guardian or anything where she needed to report in to me. "So?"

"It's back in America." Max continued anyway. "Komui estimates it should last a few days, even though I'd be traveling by the Ark." She sped up when she saw me opening my mouth to ask why this was of any importance to me. "Komui wanted me to go with an experienced Exorcist, and he insisted on it being you."

I didn't respond right away at first, but I sighed as I realized there'd be no way out of this. "Where and when?"

Max glanced at the door she had closed behind her. "About right now, really. Allen is going to help us find the door in the Ark to El Paso, Texas, but that's not our final destination… It was just one of the closest doors we already have; the mission is in the desert… I forgot the name of it, but Komui said he'd give us the briefing while we're in the Ark since we don't have enough time…" I nodded, grabbing my suitcase I rarely found myself needing to unpack as I motioned for Max to lead the way for us.

Sighing, I silently wondered whose fault it was for getting me stuck in this situation.

Komui wasn't much help in explaining what our mission was. He told us that from El Paso, we were to continue into the Chihuahuan Desert. According to some Finders and border guards, there were Akuma sightings. From what we could manage, they were only Level Ones and Twos. Our job was to find out why there were so many Akuma in the middle of nowhere and eliminate them.

He also said that most of the people who gave us that information were dead. Killed by the Akuma, or grieved over their dead friends and family, turning themselves into Akuma. We knew that none of the Finders we had sent there had been turned into Akuma, but we weren't sure which of the border guards were still human and who were not. I had suggested to Komui that Allen should be sent onto this mission, either in place of one of us or in addition, since he'd be able to tell who was an Akuma and who was not; he explained that Allen was needed on another mission with Iggy. Allen's "Akuma Vision," as Komui called it, would help make up for the fact that Iggy was blind and wouldn't know the territory they were being sent to at first. We'd have to do this the hard way, by not trusting anyone we met and being alert 24/7.

As Allen went ahead of us to search for the door to El Paso, Max and I were walking behind in silence. Komui told us he wanted us to report as soon as we found out what was going on in the desert, and come home as soon as possible; after that, he hung up. Max was clearly nervous about this mission- she was used to not being able to trust people, but from what I could manage, she didn't like the idea of killing, even if they were already dead.

"How will we know if it's really us if we meet after being separated?" Max finally spoke. "I mean, Allen told me about that one Akuma who could change its skin… Shouldn't we have a code word or something?" She tried to keep her calm, but she couldn't do so very easily. I couldn't blame her- she was facing a new enemy, if you didn't count the one time in New York, and we weren't even sure how her wings could be used as a weapon.

I gave a faint reassuring smile as we continued. I paused for a moment to think of something I knew both of us would have no trouble remembering, and one that only the two of us would know- one that wouldn't be obvious to any of the Order members, or anyone else that we'd meet. "What about… 'Fang'?"

Max looked up at me in alarm before a smile worked its way onto her face. "I think I can remember that." I nodded slightly as Allen called from up ahead to say that he found the door.

"Is there anything else you'd like to take care of before we get there?" I asked her, referring to other precautions. "We might not be able to make any more once we get there." I added, referring to how the enemy would be around us once we get to the desert- if we made up any precautions there, we might have enemies listening in on us.

Max began to shake her head as we neared Allen, before deciding against it. "If we need to escape without anyone knowing, the word is 'U&A'- 'Up and Away.'" She paused. "…That should be it,"

"I can't exactly fly, but all right," I replied with a nod, turning my head to look away from her- in the corner of my eye, I saw her frown deeply at my comment. It probably hurt her that I was killing her hopes of me being Fang but… Shouldn't people learn to move on? Isn't it better that way, instead of holding yourself back by being lost in the past?

_Look at who's being a hypocrite now…_ A voice said at the back of my mind.

_Shut up._ I replied promptly, knowing very well who the voice belonged to- I cringed mentally at the memory.

"Kanda, Max. Good luck," Allen nodded slightly at us when we reached the door.

"Che." I ignored the farewell and opened the door, waiting for Max to enter first to make sure she got there safely. The rest of the Flock would have my arse if she didn't- they all seemed to be more protective of each other, seeing how they already lost one member, and they vowed not to let it happened again.

Max said her farewells to Allen, telling him that he better bring back Iggy safely or else. He laughed, saying he would, before Max nodded and turned to me.

"Ready?" I asked simply. She nodded, and with a sharp inhale, (and probably some short prayers on her part that her first mission wouldn't be her last) we walked into the door…


	9. Chapter 8

AN: I do not own Maximum Ride or D. Gray-Man.

This is another short chapter of roughly 2 pages in word, but it was a quick update at least...

Also...

I'M BEGGING FOR MY LIFE RIGHT NOW. PLEASE DO NOT KILL ME FOR WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THIS CHAPTER. *waves my white flag*

Warning for this chapter: OOC Kanda (like throughout this entire story, but I fear it's getting worse...) and some hopes crushed at the end.

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ACT EIGHT

One word:

_Hot._

Not just hot- _extremely_ hot.

The fact that our uniforms were made out of black leather didn't help it at all.

"Screw that bastard… Few days my arse…" I muttered as I wiped the sweat off my brow. Walking next to me, I saw Max nod her head slightly in agreement. We had already been there for several days, and had yet to see any Akuma; it also seemed human existence lacked here as well. We hadn't seen any humans since the couple of Finders who had taken us to the outskirts of the desert. It made me wonder if Komui was screwing with us…

"Can't we just head back and tell them the problem's fixed…?" Max sighed deeply, looking up at the sky while using her hand as a temporary visor. "God, it didn't seem this hot when I was flying earlier…" She added with another sigh.

"That's because you were going at- what? A hundred miles per hour?" I replied with a roll of my eyes.

"Two- forty." She corrected, interrupting me from continuing.

"Whatever. Point is, you had wind blowing in your face while you were flying, leaving me to walk down here in ninety degree weather in black leather dragging our suitcases with barely any water-?" I stopped when she started laughing, caught off guard. "What? What is it?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion as we came to a halt.

Max managed to stop laughing, the smile still on her face as she answered. "I never thought of you as the person to _whine,_ Kanda. Especially with how Allen and the others describe you,"

My eye twitched as I processed the information. "I. Was _not. Whining._"

"Sure you-?" Her eyes were wide, and I didn't understand why she had stopped in the middle of her sentence or why she was staring at me as if I had suddenly grown w-

Never mind. Bad pun. Shouldn't joke about growing wings.

"T- that's…" Max said softly and I realized her eyes weren't really focused on me, but something standing behind me. "B- but…" Her eyes glanced back at me, and she seemed to be flustered, mouth opening and closing like a fish's.

"Che. Spit it out." I growled slightly, glancing over my shoulder to see if it was an Akuma- thankfully, there wasn't anything. Then again, that in its own way could be bad, seeing Max's reaction…

"I- if…" The part avian chewed her lip slightly as she shook her head, obviously confused. "I- I…" She inhaled sharply as she paused. "I must be hallucinating…" She looked back up at me apologetically. "I- I… Sorry, it must be the heat…"

I didn't let the slightest hint of worry appear on my face or body language as I looked at her. "Maybe we should take a break," I suggested. There was nothing wrong with suggesting that, seeing as we had walked for several hours since our last rest. Max was probably just exhausted, or needed some water. She nodded, and after placing our jackets on the ground, we sat down.

Max… appeared to be shaken. I tried to ask her what she had seen, but whenever I opened my mouth to speak, she turned her head away and ignored me. I'd try again every few minutes, but the result was the same. It was if she saw something that had to do with me…

Or a certain missing avian teen…

I scowled_. That's it. I'm tired of this. I should tell her who I am and get this over with-_

_Oh, but don't you enjoy having an excuse to let your emotional walls down? If you tell her, then she might hate you for tricking her-_

I growled mentally at the voice. _Fine. I'll wait a little longer before telling her the truth. Let her get used to being an Exorcist before I drop another bomb on her._

The voice laughed. _All right, as long as you make sure she doesn't drop another bomb on you!_

I yelled at the voice in my head, only stopping when I realized it wouldn't be responding any time soon.

Sometimes, I worry about my mental health…

I barely noticed when Max stood up suddenly next to me, thrown out of my thoughts when a sudden gust of air hit me in the face as she unfurled her wings. I stared at her with confused eyes, briefly looking around to see if there were enemy around us. There was still nothing other than tons of sand. As Max tensed and got into position to take off, I turned my head to look above us- perhaps the enemy was in the air?

"There's no-!" I began before being interrupted in order to cover my eyes from the swirl of sand that was rising due to Max suddenly taking off. "H- hey! Get back here!" I cursed under my breath as I grabbed my jacket and started running after her, wishing there was buildings or something to help me get up into the air- it would have been easier to follow her higher up instead of on the ground where the sand was starting to irritate me as it blew up in swirls of dust with each step. "Max! Get back here!"

"Unfurl your wings! Fly after me!" Max screamed back at me- her voice sounded hoarse. I refused to believe the cause was because she was crying, instead setting the idea that her voice was just dry in my head. "I'm not going to wait any longer!"

I stopped running; her words hit me like a ton of bricks. "Che," I cursed again. There she was again, thinking that I would follow her and stay by her side the-

No. I never did that. I was never her right hand man, nor was I ever her partner in crime…

I was never Fang…

"Baka! I don't have wings!" I yelled back at her, causing her to stop. "How can I fly if I don't have wings? Get back down here before I send my insects after you!" I pulled Mugen out of his scabbard to prove that I wasn't joking. "Stop being an idiot and get back down here!"

I knew my words would hurt her, but I did nothing to stop the phrase from coming out of my mouth.

"I'm not Fang! He's not coming back! He's gone- get it through your thick head! There's no happy ending this time, Max! Fang's gone and that's it!"

All was silent for a few minutes, save for the faint beating of Max's wings above me. I turned my head away from her as she landed slowly in front of me, knowing very well that my words had hit her hard. I sighed mentally as I placed Mugen back in his scabbard, unable to look at the avian in the eye as she folded her wings in again.

"…Let's go." I resumed walking ahead of her, regretting my words already.

How is it that those words could hurt so much?

I never hated silence so much in my life-

_Next time, keep your mouth shut._

I groaned as the voice began to chastise me, talking nonstop.

What I wouldn't give for a redo now…


End file.
